Read Online Cragbridge Hall, Book One: The Inventor's Secret by Chad Morris - Free Book Online
Authors: Chad Morris
Tags: Fiction
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inside of the school! And if the zoo was real, then ...
Derick quickened his pace down the hall. The next room looked like a jungle. Tree after tree filled the area, and trails and brush covered the ground. At least eight gorillas moved around the room, resting along the floor or climbing the trees. One sat with his large black back against the glass. They looked powerful, yet agile. Derick thought they would have to be some of the most intimidating creatures in existence. He rapped his knuckles against the glass. The creatures completely ignored him.
The next room held lions sleeping next to a pond. A giraffe habitat was in the following room, where they ate leaves from tall trees. Finally, Derick found a room with a series of three trees swarming with small monkeys. Their bellies were gray, but a bright, tannish yellow color covered their backs, arms, and legs. They scurried quickly from place to place and swung with agility from branch to branch. The tops of their heads and their snouts were a darker brown, but pink lined their eyes and ears. It was almost as if they were wearing light, furry goggles. Derick paused to look at a monkey eating some sort of small green fruit.
The moment Derick saw the next room, he stopped, his mouth gaping. The room looked like a large warehouse, with rows and rows of storage space, but instead of boxes, there were animals. Each lay lifeless in their sections, like merchandise ready to be sold. Rows of monkeys identical to those in the trees here stood on shelves. Lions stood motionless on all fours. They looked like stuffed beasts in a museum. Giraffes lined one column, and several massive rhinos stood along the back wall. Varying types of birds, squirrels, and other animals lined the next rows. Even a variety of fish lay on shelves.
“Avatars,” he whispered, and quickened his pace.
Derick walked between two large open doors, noticing what looked like a complicated locking mechanism on both of the doors. They were open now, but he could imagine they stayed locked up tight after hours. The avatar lab must have cost billions of dollars; of course the school took all possible precautions to keep it safe.
As Derick filed into a line, he could tell he had to enter through another set of doors. Each person in line had to answer several questions before continuing on into the lab. Derick had to wait. When no one entered the line behind him, he figured he’d probably spent a little too much time entranced by the animals and avatars.
“Hand up,” a boy said with a slight accent that Derick couldn’t place. The boy had olive skin and long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail. He was probably a few years older than Derick and was wearing a name badge that read “T.A.—Rafael.”
Derick raised his hand, and a beam scanned it.
“Looks like you’re clear,” the boy said. “Do you promise to follow all the lab rules?”
Derick hadn’t expected such a greeting, but responded with, “Sure.”
“If you break a rule, do you understand that you could be dismissed from this academy, and, depending on the nature of your behavior, even prosecuted by the law?”
“Really?” Derick asked.
“Yes,” the boy replied, not a hint of a smile or joke on his face. “Avatars can be weapons if used inappropriately. We have taken every precaution to keep them safe here. The glass you saw on your way in is several times stronger than brick, and it’s laced with alarms. You can only be allowed in if the professor or I let you in from the inside. Only those who are completely trusted have access.”
“You have that kind of clearance?” Derick asked. “Aren’t you just a student?”
“Yes and no,” the boy said. “I’m a ninth grader and the teacher’s assistant.”
“Give me a year or two, and maybe I can be an assistant too.”
The boy’s lips curled into a half-smile. “ Vamos ver .”
Derick couldn’t understand the words, but there was something about the boy’s expression
Derick quickened his pace down the hall. The next room looked like a jungle. Tree after tree filled the area, and trails and brush covered the ground. At least eight gorillas moved around the room, resting along the floor or climbing the trees. One sat with his large black back against the glass. They looked powerful, yet agile. Derick thought they would have to be some of the most intimidating creatures in existence. He rapped his knuckles against the glass. The creatures completely ignored him.
The next room held lions sleeping next to a pond. A giraffe habitat was in the following room, where they ate leaves from tall trees. Finally, Derick found a room with a series of three trees swarming with small monkeys. Their bellies were gray, but a bright, tannish yellow color covered their backs, arms, and legs. They scurried quickly from place to place and swung with agility from branch to branch. The tops of their heads and their snouts were a darker brown, but pink lined their eyes and ears. It was almost as if they were wearing light, furry goggles. Derick paused to look at a monkey eating some sort of small green fruit.
The moment Derick saw the next room, he stopped, his mouth gaping. The room looked like a large warehouse, with rows and rows of storage space, but instead of boxes, there were animals. Each lay lifeless in their sections, like merchandise ready to be sold. Rows of monkeys identical to those in the trees here stood on shelves. Lions stood motionless on all fours. They looked like stuffed beasts in a museum. Giraffes lined one column, and several massive rhinos stood along the back wall. Varying types of birds, squirrels, and other animals lined the next rows. Even a variety of fish lay on shelves.
“Avatars,” he whispered, and quickened his pace.
Derick walked between two large open doors, noticing what looked like a complicated locking mechanism on both of the doors. They were open now, but he could imagine they stayed locked up tight after hours. The avatar lab must have cost billions of dollars; of course the school took all possible precautions to keep it safe.
As Derick filed into a line, he could tell he had to enter through another set of doors. Each person in line had to answer several questions before continuing on into the lab. Derick had to wait. When no one entered the line behind him, he figured he’d probably spent a little too much time entranced by the animals and avatars.
“Hand up,” a boy said with a slight accent that Derick couldn’t place. The boy had olive skin and long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail. He was probably a few years older than Derick and was wearing a name badge that read “T.A.—Rafael.”
Derick raised his hand, and a beam scanned it.
“Looks like you’re clear,” the boy said. “Do you promise to follow all the lab rules?”
Derick hadn’t expected such a greeting, but responded with, “Sure.”
“If you break a rule, do you understand that you could be dismissed from this academy, and, depending on the nature of your behavior, even prosecuted by the law?”
“Really?” Derick asked.
“Yes,” the boy replied, not a hint of a smile or joke on his face. “Avatars can be weapons if used inappropriately. We have taken every precaution to keep them safe here. The glass you saw on your way in is several times stronger than brick, and it’s laced with alarms. You can only be allowed in if the professor or I let you in from the inside. Only those who are completely trusted have access.”
“You have that kind of clearance?” Derick asked. “Aren’t you just a student?”
“Yes and no,” the boy said. “I’m a ninth grader and the teacher’s assistant.”
“Give me a year or two, and maybe I can be an assistant too.”
The boy’s lips curled into a half-smile. “ Vamos ver .”
Derick couldn’t understand the words, but there was something about the boy’s expression
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